10 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Website

If you haven’t looked at your website lately — and I mean really looked at it — it’s time to do so. Look at it from an unbiased view; it might not be as wonderful as you once thought it was. Here are 10 things you can do today to improve the look and functionality of your site.

1. Update the copy. If you haven’t updated your web copy in a while, it’s time for a change. make sure to use keywords in the copy on each page, and ensure that the content regarding your services or products is up to date.

2. Add social media links. If you’re on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Flickr, include attractive icons on your home page so that visitors can easily connect with you across channels.

3. Update staff photos. If your last employee photos were taken several years ago, update them. Grab a good camera and send everyone out on a sunny day for consistent backgrounds on all images.

4. Add title tags. Improve your SEO by adding or freshening up your title tags for each page, using your keywords.

5. Remove stale news. If you have announcements or events on your site that are past expiration date, take them down and update with newer updates.

6. Add press releases. If you distribute press releases (and you should), link to them from your site. Add a News page for them if you don’t have one.

7. Consider a design overhaul. If your look is circa 1999, think about a facelift for your site. Content management systems are much easier to update than old HTML sites.

8. Add a blog. A constant flow of relevant content can drive new traffic and help you creep up search engine results.

9. Make sure all links work. You may have forgotten that you removed a file or path for a link, so make sure visitors aren’t getting the dreaded 404 page.

10. Pare it down. So many sites overdo it on web copy and content, and that detracts from your site. See if you can say it in fewer words.